USA Track & Field Indoor Masters
2011 Championship,Albuquerque, NM
Selected Media Coverage
KOAT-7 ABC-TVNews Story (Click on link):
A Master at More than Trumpet
Pro -Pros from the Newspaper
By Ed Johnson / Assistant Sports Editor
Thu, Mar 03, 2011
61-year-old runner ready to 'kick butt' in ITF Championships
Nolan Shaheed, 61, runs, mile after mile, to the rhythms in his head, to the sweet sounds of a jazz trumpet, to the small beats of his feet on pavement.
He runs because it gives him a peace that nothing else does.
But it was the music that came first. At 5 years old, he played the violin, but when he was 12, he heard Louis Armstrong's pleasing horn on the radio and his whole world was born anew.
"I had never heard it before," Shaheed says, "but whatever that was, whatever he was playing, that's what I wanted to do."
The Pasadena, Calif., native also started to run a little track, just as something to do. But it wasn'ta passion, not like the trumpet, so he quit.
His music teacher, however, noticed a difference. Your endurance isn't as strong as when you were running track, he told young Nolan. So Shaheed went back to running, and his music was more forceful than ever.
Friday-SundayUSA Masters
Indoor Track & Field Championships
AlbuquerqueConvention Center
Individual event finals begin
Friday, 2:15 p.m.;
Saturday, 10 a.m.; and
Sunday, 7:30 a.m.
Shaheed, who has an aunt and uncle who live inAlbuquerque, will compete this week in the USA MastersIndoor Track and Field Championshipsat theConvention Center. He has set world indoor age-group records in the mile, and outdoor age-group records in the 800 meters, mile and 1,500 meters.
But, as a runner, he was a late bloomer. As a musician, he was not.
Word had gotten around Los Angeles about this hot young trumpeter, and the music director forAretha Franklingave him a shot to record with the "Queen of Soul." It was his first major gig and it was with some of the best West Coast musicians. By 1974, at age 25, he was musical director for Marvin Gaye.
Shaheed has since played lead trumpet with theCount Basie Orchestra, forNatalie Cole,Stevie Wonder,Diana Ross,Phil CollinsandAnita Baker. He has his own recording studio and just released a CD, "Lamentation From theMiddle Passage."
He says there are a couple of different ways a musician winds down.
"A lot of guys to relax by eating," Shaheed says. "They get fat and lazy and happy. Some guys will smoke a joint and get happy. Me? I go out and do a nice 10-mile run.
"I'm singing, I'm thinking about music, composing music in my head."
The only time he blocks the music is when he is in competition.
"When I'm competing," Shaheed says, "the only thing on my mind is kicking butt. That's the only thing. I'm not thinking about music, I'm not even thinking about my wife. I think about her 23 hours a day, but not when I'm competing."
Shaheed, who occasionally sand-bagged his fellow musicians by challenging them to races, then taking their money, got serious about competing when he was in his 30s. He learned about the Masters track program and his interest skyrocketed.
The faster he ran, the happier he got.
Shaheed also has an unusual diet, although he hardly thinks of it that way.
He eats six meals a week - three a week in the summer. That's one meal, or less, a day.
On a typical day, the 5-foot-9, 125-pound Shaheed will go on a 10- or 12-mile run. Afterward, at around3 p.m., he will eat some fruit, then shower. He will wait a half-hour, then eat his meal - grains, vegetables, chicken or fish. The rest of the day, he drinks only water. On the seventh day, he fasts.
"If I eat too much," he says, "I get hungry."
He's been on this diet for about 30 years. He first read about it in a magazine article.
"I started looking around, and our country is fat," Shaheed says. "Everybody is consumed with weight. We don't need three meals a day."
In May, Shaheed will be the featured soloist at a tribute toDuke Ellington(someone else he has worked with) at theWalt Disney Concert Hall.
But first he will perform in Albuquerque on the track. He is scheduled to run the 3,000 meterson Friday night, the mile (in which he regularly runs in sub-5 minutes) at12:50 p.m. onSaturdayand the 800 meterson Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
The last time Shaheed was in Albuquerque was 1978 when he came with the Count Basie Orchestra.
"Of all the people I worked with," Shaheed says, "I lovedCount Basiethe most."
As a studio musician, Shaheed never knows what the gig will be.
"They'll call and say, 'Be at CBS at7:30 on Friday.' You don't know if it's a cartoon or a movie, rock and roll, rhythm and blues or soul. All you know is you're there. You run through it one time, then record. If you can't cut it, they don't call you back."
Shaheed keeps getting the call. The music runs through his mind. His feet dance. He's a happy warrior running.
MASTERS TO WATCH
Sullivan Award Finalist
• Philippa Raschker was a Sullivan Award finalist as America's top athlete twice over the past six years -- along withApolo Ohno,LeBron JamesandMichael Phelps--- and is the most decorated masters athlete in history. The W60 (minimum age of 60) competitor made news and raised eyebrows in late 2010 by posing nude in ESPN the Magazine's second annual Body Issue. She's entered here as F60 in seven events (60, 200, 60 hurdles, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump).
Former Olympians
• Albuquerque's Patricia Porter, who was eighth in the high jump at the 1988 Seoul Olympics as Trish King. She's scheduled in the W45 high jump (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.) and 60-meter hurdles.
• Chris Faulknor, a Jamaican Olympian in 1988 as the lead leg of the 400-meter relay team that finished fourth. He's a youth and high school track coach in Gardena, Calif.
N.M. connections of note
• John Ashcraft (43), a former track and cross-country coach at Capitan High.
• Francoise Barnes (W60), women's mile.
• Colleen Burns (W60) entered in the sprints (60, 200, 400) and the mile, is from near Albuquerque. She was at the National Senior Games in Palo Alto, Calif., two years ago in the 5- and 10K races.
• Dennis Diaz (54), a Las Cruces pastor and formerNew MexicoStateweight thrower, will be a championship contender in the M50 shot put.
• Matthew Duncan (M60, Albuquerque), men's mile.
• Paul Economides (M65) has lived in Albuquerque since 1978. He holds the American M65 weight pentathlon and discus records.
• Dan Holton (42) of Chicago won a state high school pole vault title at Eldorado in 1986 ("I think I might still hold the school record," he says) and was All-Western Athletic Conference in the event at UNM.
• Jamie Koch (75), UNM regent and former legislator, is a shot putter and, in other venues, a competition weightlifter. He won world and European age-group titles in 2005.
• Linda Laktasic (W50) 800 meters, mile. All-American runner (at Macalester) and later a nationally competitive marathoner, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials twice. Laktasic received an MBA from UNM in 1991.
• Teddy Mitchell (M35, 800 meters, mile, 3,000), Albuquerque resident, formerly ran for the University of Arkansas.
• David Salazar (M60, Cedar Crest) is entered in the 400, the 800 and the mile.
• Lisa Valle (W40) of Albuquerque is a masters record holder and champion in the 1,500 meters and steeplechase.
• Brad Winters (M55) is a M50 indoor pole vault national champion, an Albuquerque city councilman and a driving force in bringing the indoor track championships to Albuquerque.
Reigning outdoor world masters champions:34
Reigning indoor world masters champions:77
Oldest athletes:San Diego's Leland McPhie, 96, competes in the jumps.
Betty Jarvis of Aberdeen, N.C., 95, holds 13 U.S. age-group records in the throws.
Link to Original:
Standout Masters Track Athletes Converge on Duke City
ByJournal Staffon Mar. 4, 2011
Albuquerque’s run as the nation’s indoor track and field capital continues this week.
The USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships begin today and run through Sunday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Philippa Raschker, a two-time Sullivan finalist, will compete in seven events — the 60- and 200-meter dashes, the 60-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault.
The meet features 77 reigning indoor world masters champions, 34 current outdoor world masters champs and more than 800 athletes from 35 to 96 years old.
But not all the athletes are recently decorated.
Linda Laktasik of Albuquerque will run in the 800 meters and mile, but says she hasn’t competed in a national meet “for almost 30 years so I thought at age 50 I should give it a try.”
John Ashcraft, 43, of Ruidoso competed at a small college in western Oklahoma in the late 1980s, but didn’t get back on a track until last year at an all-comers meet in Albuquerque.
“My son pole vaulted in the high school class,” Ashcraft says, “and I did all the events that they would let me (six). I loved track and running. I am not sure why I ever gave it up so soon. This is one of those second chances that make life fun.”
Link to Original:
Valle Peaks; Bates Sets World Record
ByJournal Staffon Mar. 5, 20110 Comments and 0 Likes
Christopher Bates of Portland, Ore., set American and world records in the pentathlon Friday, the first day of the USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships at Albuquerque Convention Center. Competing in the Men’s 45 (and older age) division, Bates scored 4,036 points.
Among the other winners of Friday’s 43 finals was decorated Albuquerque runner Lisa Valle, who left the field in the W45 3,000 meters field to win in 10 minutes, 53.76 seconds. Another New Mexican, Los Alamos’ Blake Wood, ran a blazing 9:46.50 to win the M50 title in the same event.
Kay Glynn won the W55 pole vault by tying her pending world and U.S. records (9 feet, 8 inches). Todd Taylor of Molalla, Ore., had a four weight throws better than the previous U.S. mark, winning with a 65-8. Four records were set in the 400 meters, including the Atlanta Track Club’s Jeanne Daprano (W70, 1:20.57).
The three-day meet features athletes ranging in age from 30-96 and continues today with the first finals in the blocks at 10 a.m. Admission is free.
Link to Original:
Cancer Survivor Dunton Inspires at U.S. Masters Track and Field Meet
ByTristen Critchfield / Journal Staff Writeron Mar. 6, 2011
A few years ago, the odds were against Lynn Polk Dunton ever picking up the shot put — or any other throwing implement — again.
Dunton was diagnosed to have breast cancer in 2007, and as part of her treatment underwent surgery that included the removal of 17 lymph nodes.
As far as the Farmington High School graduate’s well-being was concerned, the procedure was essential to determining whether the cancer had spread to other parts of her body. But for an accomplished athlete who made it to the United States Olympic Trials in 1980, it was potentially devastating.
“The doctors tell you once you’ve had that surgery, you can’t lift heavy things; you don’t throw heavy things,” Dunton said.
It’s a good thing Dunton doesn’t listen to everything doctors tell her. At the National Masters Indoor Championships on Saturday, Dunton was both strong and ebullient, placing third in the women’s 50 age-group shot put and then basking in the glow of family and friends at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
“She’s such an inspiration. I just look at her and go, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It’s just amazing,” said Sani Withers, her sister. Back in 2007, Dunton balked at recommendations that she receive chemotherapy and radiation treatment for her cancer.
“Doctors told me I’d die if I didn’t do those things, and I just thought, ‘I don’t have faith in that,’ ” she said. “So, I did a whole lifestyle change, did a nutritional change — just changed my life and put it into remission.”
Meanwhile, her right arm grew stronger by the day.
“I started really getting healthy and getting well. I just started throwing and all of a sudden realized, ‘Wow, I’m doing everything with this right side.’ Lifting and throwing, and I never got any lymphedema (fluid and tissue swelling in the lymphatic system). So that’s a miracle in itself,” Dunton said.
Besides the shot put, Dunton, 54, competes in the discus, weight throw, superweight throw and the hammer throw. In 2011 she plans on competing in as many as 14 track and field events all over the country.
Athletic talent runs in the family. Dunton’s and Withers’ father, Gene Polk, played left end and middle linebacker for the University of New Mexico football team from 1947-49. Saturday marked the first time in more than 20 years that he was able to see his daughter in action.
“It was just wonderful to see my daughter out there competing and see her doing well — knowing all the obstacles that she’s overcome in her life with her cancer — her devotion to her sport,” he said.
Polk eventually married the late Sally DeGroot, daughter of former Lobo football coach Dudley DeGroot. Sally was a world-record holder in the hammer throw and instilled in her daughters the love of all things throwing. While Dunton left New Mexico and went to college in San Diego, where she still lives, Withers threw the shot, discus and javelin for UNM. She later coached track and field at East Mountain High from 2004-08.
When Dunton decided to get back into throwing about two years ago, she enlisted her sister as unofficial coach. When Dunton returns to visit New Mexico, the two train in the throwing ring their mother built in the East Mountains years ago.
“My mom coached both of us for so many years. When Lynn comes out and I get to coach her, it’s like my mom’s kind of there with us,” Withers said.
For Dunton, every opportunity to compete is a gift.
“Every day I step on this track, I go: ‘I’m alive.’ It’s something to celebrate,” she said.
NOTE: The Convention Center track again lived up to its fast reputation on Saturday. Half of 28 American records broken and three of the seven world age-group records smashed were in the 60 meters.
Capsule – National Masters Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Event finals begin at 9:30 a.m. Admission is free.
Photo Credit – roberto e. rosales/journal
Cutline – Farmington native Lynn Polk Dunton excelled in the women’s 50 age-group shot put Saturday at the U.S. Masters meet.
Link to Original:
High Jumper Still Has Passion for Her Sport
ByTristen Critchfield / Journal Staff Writeron Mar. 7, 2011
Trish Porter of Albuquerque won her age group competition at the National Masters Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
As Trish Porter prepared for one of her last high jump attempts of the day at the National Masters Indoor Championships on Saturday, she glanced toward the stands and caught her son diligently pecking away on some type of digital device.
To capture his attention, Porter playfully yelled in his direction.
Like a dutiful son, Connor Porter left his seat and walked across the track at the Albuquerque Convention Center to get a closer view as his mom finished the day first in the W45 age group for the high jump and second overall with a jump of 4 feet, 11 inches. Alaska’s Stacey Nieder took first with a record-setting jump of 5-6.
It was Porter’s 11th Master’s title overall (three indoor, eight outdoor), but as the Albuquerque resident pointed out, it takes a little more to impress her son.
“He’s grown up watching me jump, but he has not watched me in two years maybe. It’s old hat for him,” she said of Connor, who went to France to watch Porter compete in the Indoor Masters World Championships three years ago.
“You know how many fencing tournaments of his I watched?” she joked. “I take him all over the country to compete. So somebody said, ‘He needs to watch you.”
Most anyone can learn a thing or two by watching 48-year-old Porter in action. The 1988 U.S. Olympian has managed to maintain her success thanks to a strenuous workout regimen — she trains five to six days a week — and an unwavering enthusiasm for her sport.
Porter has attempted to pass on some her knowledge in her recently released book, “Rekindling Your Dreams.”
“It encourages women and gives them the tools to successfully live their dream even though they might think it’s too late. And actually a lot of men have read it. It’s gotten very good reviews,” she said.
Porter moved to Albuquerque from Colorado some 16 years ago when her husband Pat, a two-time Olympian in the 10,000 meters, decided that he had enough of training in Colorado’s freezing winter temperatures.
“It was in December, record-breaking 70-degree (weather), and he was on the track in shorts,” Porter said. “He calls me and says, ‘Pack your bags, we’re moving.’”
Pat Porter was unable to attend his wife’s meet because he was taking a class toward earning his pilot’s license. Also absent was Porter’s daughter, Shannon, a competitive ice skater who was training in Colorado Springs. Factor in Connor’s fencing competitions and the Porter family doesn’t have much in the way of idle time.
“I’m all over the country with the three of us competing,” she said.
Those who did see Porter on Saturday witnessed what she called “one of the better meets I’ve had in two years.”
“I’m really happy; it’s kind of the first time I haven’t been hurt in a couple years, so that was a fun experience. I feel like, ‘OK, I’m back,’ and I’m gonna start jumping better again. “